Social media marketing is now a major force in business. While it was conceived as a mere way to connect with a network of people online, social networks have become an all-encompassing presence in our lives. It moves culture forward and influences how people live their lives.
From the early days of Friendster and Multiply, social media has allowed people to curate and share their interests with friends and other like-minded people. With the more expansive features of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, among others, social media has become more than just a marketing tool for businesses. It has now turned into a holistic platform that widens marketing opportunities for brands like never before.
What is social media marketing?
If you want your business to remain in step with current consumer and cultural trends, then you need to understand social media marketing. Also known as brand marketing, social media marketing applies traditional marketing concepts to the arena of social media.
In other words, you market your products or brand directly to your target consumers on a more interactive platform. You are no longer just putting an ad on TV or in print, where communication is one-way, and audiences cannot respond directly to you. Instead, you connect to customers in ways that make your brand more dynamic.
For one thing, social media marketing humanizes your brand. Its social media profile can operate like any individual on the platform. It can post pictures and memes, make topical jokes, and engage with other users. It can respond directly to customer reviews, which help solve problems or gain brand insight in real-time.
How social media supports relationship marketing for businesses
When you use social media for business marketing, you can elevate your brand authority and recognition. Your brand’s engagement becomes an organic part of people’s lives, like banter with friends and loved ones, as it is intertwined seamlessly into their daily social media usage. Your connection becomes deeper, as you are able to interact with them immediately and receive feedback. Consequently, your product and your unique selling proposition become more real to them.
How social media promotes customer interaction
The role of social media in community building and development has grown over the years. Through effective strategies, your brand can also nurture its own social media community. Your social media presence can serve as a hub for customers to connect with one other, leading to more organic engagement and allowing your brand to live a life of its own within their interactions. Some of these customers can even spread brand awareness through their personal posts, giving your products or services more mileage.
How social media supports SEO
The more engagement you create, whether directly through your own posts or indirectly via other users’ posts, the better your SEO rankings, especially when you use social media to drive traffic to your website. Because of its viral capabilities and exponential reach, social media can give a considerable boost to your SEO.
Social media marketing used to be thought of as the future of marketing. But because of how fast things have changed over the last few years, the future is here, now. Social media has played a big role in the new normal, connecting people and businesses with each other even in times of physical distancing.
Social media has helped us in the new normal and will continue to do so as we face future challenges by connecting us in more profound ways. If you want your business to stay competitive and stay relevant no matter the situation, then you must fully embrace social media marketing.
